Halt's Peril Version Two
by SheMcScribe245
Summary: Halt has been poisoned. Horace, Will, and Malcolm have to figure out a way to save him. Fortunately or unfortunately, Halt has a few tricks up his sleeve. Tricks he didn't even know about...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first story, so don't judge it too harshly. Hope you enjoy.**

**Disclamer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or Halt's Peril.**

Chapter 1

Halt was unconscious again! Horace sat back on his heals nervously. When would Will get back with Malcolm the healer? He was really late! He said he would get back after three days, and the fourth day was halfway through!

Halt began to toss and turn. Horace reached over and soothed him. "Shh Halt. It's okay. Will's going to get back with the healer. It's alright. Shh."

Halt opened his eyes. "Horace?"

Horace let go a huge breath that had been pent up in side of him when Halt woke. He had been worried that Halt wouldn't recognize him again, like Yesterday. When that had happened, Halt had woken up thinking that Horace was Crowley, the Ranger Corps. commandant. They had had this whole discussion with Horace having to pretend that he was Crowley. Halt had told him to take care of Will and… Horace!

"Horace? Is that you? Can you hear me? Where's Will? Did he go after Tennyson? Horace?"

Horace realized that Halt was scared. He was scared that he would die. Horace's eyes misted over. Then, he shook himself; This was Halt he was talking about. Halt, the brave friend. Halt, his best friends teacher. _His_ teacher. Halt couldn't die! He just couldn't.

It would shatter Will's heart. And Will was his friend.

Horace reached out to Halt. "Yes Halt. It is me. I can hear you, and Will went for a healer."

Halt frowned. "A healer? Why'd he go for a healer?"

Horace hesitated, and then realized Halt had forgotten about the poison that was slowly working its way to his heart. "Uh, he went… for your… um… for your… arm injury."

Halt froze, and then said, "An arm injury? Oh no, oh NO!" He was looking at his arm, at the bandage that was there. Horace realized why. Of course, Halt was a ranger. Now he couldn't do anything that Rangers are meant to do. He couldn't fight, hide, shoot, or even walk! But he doesn't know that he can't walk. He doesn't know about the poison that Horace and Will had discovered.

Halt struggled to sit up, staring out into the distance. "My apprentice. My apprentice. My apprentice." He kept on muttering. Horace shoved him back down. Halt kept on struggling, and then he shoved Horace's hand away, and sat up.

Almost immediately, his face turned green and he swayed back and forth. Horace caught him right before he fell. Halt murmured something weakly.

"What?" said Horace.

"Will." Said Halt in a low voice, staring off into the distance. Horace sighed. It seemed that Halt's mind was starting to wander. Suddenly, Halt stiffened, took a deep breath, and yelled, "WILL!"

Horace looked, and started in surprise. Riding toward them at a gallop, were three riders! Then, when they got a bit closer, he could see that it was actually three _horses_, _two_ riders!

Horace jumped up, waving his arms with glee. "Will, Will, Will, Will, Will, WILL!"

One of the riders stood up in the stirrups and waved to Horace.

It was Will.

**A/N: btw-if you didn't understand it, because you didn't read the book, don't feel too surprised. Just get off my story and don't come back until you read the books. Thanks!  
-Scribe**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry it took so long. I'm not really allowed to use this computer. It's my mom's. Thanks for coming back.**

**Disclamer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or Halt's Peril.**

Chapter 2

The three horses galloped into the camp, spraying dirt everywhere. The two of them rushed strait to the makeshift bed where Halt was struggling to sit up. The other, a great big battle-horse just slowed down and began to nudge its master, Horace, for apples. Abelard and Tug, however, went right up to Halt. Abelard started nudging Halt, while Will swung off of Tug.

"Halt!" Will cried, hugging his old mentor. "I brought Malcolm! He came riding on Abelard, and-!" He was stopped by Halt saying,

"Malcolm rode my horse?! Is he crazy?! Abelard would just as soon throw him off than let someone ride him… oh. You told him the pass code." Halt scowled at his apprentice, and then turned away from him, staring into the distance.

"Halt! I promise you I didn't mean to make you upset, it's just because of the pois-!" Suddenly, Horace intervened.

"It's because of your arm injury, Halt!" He yelled over Will, effectively drowning him out. "It looked pretty serious, so you told him to go get Malcolm. Don't you remember?" Oh. Speaking of him, Hi Malcolm!"

The healer saw the pleading in Horace's eyes, the bewilderment in Will's, and understood what had happened.

"Halt, my name is Malcolm." He said. "I am a very accomplished healer and I promise I am not here to hurt you, tease you, or cause harm to you in any way. Here." He pulled out a beaker, and said, "I want you to drink this for me. Okay?"

Halt nodded and took the beaker from his hand. He hesitated, and then sniffed it tentatively. Surprisingly, it smelled rather pleasant. It reminded him of dark cold nights in the forest with Will, and then suddenly, Will would get up and start making a savory rabbit stew. The air would be filled with the sweetest aromas, and then Will would put a bowl in his hands. He would immediately start eating, usually strait from the bowl. He would tilt his head back, and drink, just like he was doing with the beaker that was in his hands right now. Suddenly, the empty cup fell out of his hands. His head fell back on the pillow, and he became very still.

Will watched with horrified fascination as his teacher fell into a coma. Now, he sprang into action. Will jumped forward and snatched Malcolm's arm in his own.

"What have you done to him?!" Will asked.

"I've just put him into a deep sleep so that I can look at his arm injury." Said Malcolm.

Will rounded angrily on Horace. "And what were you doing, calling it an arm injury?! Who were you kidding? Who were you lying to? Me? You know that I know about the poison!" Will stopped his tyrant to breathe.

"It wasn't you I was lying to Will. It was Halt. He'd forgotten about the poison, and I couldn't bring myself to tell him he was poisoned. I'm sorry you didn't know and that I didn't have time to tell you." Horace looked sincere, so Will let it drop, muttering,

"All right."

Malcolm shoved Will and Horace out of the way and got busy. He unwound the bandage on Halt's arm and the two boys turned away in disgust. The arm was discolored, with the flesh all different colors. There was pus too. As Malcolm took it off, the wound even started steaming. Malcolm, however, sat back on his heels and surveyed the arm critically. He had seen worse, he thought, then leaped back in surprise with a yelp.

Will and Horace, who had begun to walk away, now whirled around and came rushing back.

"What happened?" cried Will.

Malcolm turned to them and yelled, "Why didn't you tell me he was Hibernian?! And royal too by the looks of things! You blithering IDIOTS! This changes EVERYTHING! Damn!"

The boys looked at each other, and then Will said gently, "What's happened Malcolm?"

"Come and see for yourself! You'll see what's happened!" Malcolm let the boys walk passed him, only to have them stop in surprise.

Halt was _glowing._

**A/N: next chapter are some surprises. hope u don't mind.**

**-Scribe**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or Halt's Peril.**

Chapter 3

There was an aura of blue light coming from around Halt's unconscious form. It was literally picking him up, off the ground, so that he was floating. It was growing brighter too. Then, when they looked closer, they could see a bit of brownish-green, trying to work its way in. The blue was trying to push it out. As they watched, the green grew smaller and smaller. And then… and then…

It died.

Halt was slowly lowered back down to the bedroll as the blue aura disappeared.

Suddenly, he gasped; then breathed easily. Horace shook his head slowly.

"Malcolm?" he asked. "W-w-what just happened?"

"That," Malcolm replied; "Is what happens when a Hibernian royal heals himself when he's on the brink of death. They all do it eventually. It's unconsciously done, in this case literally. Look." He said, pointing to Halt's unwrapped arm. The arm, which had been previously discolored and swollen, was now perfectly fine. "As you can see, the arm is healed."

He strode over to his work bag, pulled out some sort of small tube, and pulled on it. It began to stretch. And stretch. And stretch. When it was about a meter and a half long, he stopped. "There," he said with a triumphant smile. "That will serve my purposes."

He noticed Will's and Horace's bewildered looks, and said two words. "It's collapsible."

He took the flexible tube, laid one end near Halt's head, so the other was a meter and a half away. He walked over to the far end, picked it up and yelled into it, "Wake up Halt!"

Horace and Will started. Halt, however, did more than that. It would be kind of lame to say he opened his eyes. The truth? He leaped out of the bed like a maniac, and landed on his feet, hands moving automatically to his side, where his knives were supposed to be.

"What the…" he started saying, but the rest was stopped, because at that very moment, he was knocked over by Will diving onto him and hugging him fiercely.

There were the few moments of joy and confusion when the mentor has just recovered from poison, the apprentice jumps on him, his best friend on top of him, and the healer trying to get them all off.

When everything was in order again, Halt sat down and demanded to know what had happened. Malcolm looked around. Halt was the one asking, Horace lost his voice shouting with glee, and Will was practically in tears, he was so happy. He sighed. "I guess I have to be the one to tell you what happened, huh?"

Halt looked around and made the same assessment that Malcolm had made. "It would seem so."

Malcolm told him the whole story about how he and Will had gone to kill the Genovesians, Halt was hit with a poisoned arrow from a crossbow, and Will had gone to get Malcolm. He described what Halt had looked like when his Hibernian royal blood had kicked in. And lastly, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE IN THE HIBERNIAN ROYAL LINE?! I WASN'T EVEN NEEDED!"

Halt didn't speak for a second. Then he beckoned to Will. "Come here Will."

Will went to Halt, and was enveloped in a crushing hug from his mentor. Halt then leaned in, and whispered something in Will's ear. Will beamed. Then, Halt whispered something else. For a moment, Will looked surprised. Then he turned to Halt, smiled, and nodded. Halt turned to Malcolm.

"I had no idea that being in the Hibernian Royal Line had healing properties. Besides, I've been hiding my identity for _years_! What makes you think that just because I was going to die, that I would reveal that to a healer?"

Malcolm studied Halt and seemed to see only the truth. He nodded. "All right. By the way, what is your position in the royal line?"

Halt raised his eyebrow, and responded, "I'm the king." The corners of his mouth twitched, and he said, "But we can go over my life story later. Right now, I'm feeling rather peckish, aren't you?"

"YES!" cried Horace, as he led the stampede to the fireplace.

And what do you think Halt had whispered to Will? "Well done Will. You know, me and Pauline were thinking of adopting you and Horace. What do you think?"

And of course, Will said yes.

**A/N Yes. I know. It sounds like a proposal. But seriously, what could I do? Next chapter is Halt and Will scared of going on stage.**

**-Scribe**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N I hope you'll keep on reading my story and have a great time!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or Halt's Peril.**

Chapter 4

Will stood off to one side, watching the proceedings. He definitely did not want to go up on that stage, where Horace had just been made Halt and Lady Pauline's son. Halt appeared beside him. He smiled at his former apprentice. He knew what was going through his mind. All rangers experienced it. Used to being able to blend into the shadows, they hated being the center of attention.

Will looked up and tried to smile weakly. He knew that Halt knew what he was thinking. "It's worse than fighting the Temujai." Will said.

Halt smiled again at him. "I know. When we were up there with Horace, I had to use all my courage not to slip away unnoticed." Halt paused. "If you want, I'll put my hand on your shoulder. That will be better for both of us."

Will was confused. "Both of us?"

Halt nodded. "Yes. It will stop you from running away, and it will remind me why I am here."

The two smiled at each other, an expression that used to be so rare on Halt.

"Halt and Will, please come up."

The smiles drained from their faces, and they looked at each other nervously. "Well," said Halt. "Let's go and face the music."

**A/N next chapter is Alyss and Cassandra.**

**-Scribe**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N This was sort of a funny addition to the story, with Alyss and Cassandra laughing at their husbands and father-in-law.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ranger's Apprentice or Halt's Peril, but I do own Jessica.**

Chapter 5

Alyss smiled. To think, her best friend and her husband being adopted by her mentor and her mentor's husband. A small family. Mother, Father, and two brothers. She looked over at the girl sitting at her side. Jessica waved her tiny hand and giggled, while her mother was sitting next to her, wiping her tears.

"Hey, Cass," Alyss whispered. Cassandra looked up from her handkerchief.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Can you believe that Horace and Will are getting adopted when their twenty five years old? And to Halt and Pauline too!"

"Yeah," said Cass. "Now we're _really_ sisters."

"Am I considered royal now? Considering the fact that I'm the sister-in-law of the future king and queen, I should think so." Alyss grinned, to show that she was joking.

Cass, however, looked pretty serious as she thought it over. Then she said one word. "Yes."

Alyss looked at her, and then grinned again as she said, "Then I think that we'll take The Royal Cabin in The Royal Woods."

Cassandra looked puzzled. "Where's that? I've never heard of the Royal Cabin, or the Royal Woods."

Alyss grinned delightedly. "That's because I made it up! It's the new name for the woods outside of Castle Redmont, and Halt's old cabin. We're moving in there, you know."

The two friends smiled at each other just as Jessica started to cry. Cassandra sighed as she picked her up. Immediately, Jessica started to gurgle happily in her mother's arms. "You little faker." Cass said to her child.

Alyss looked up and laughed. "Hey look, Halt and Will have already slipped away!"

The two women were startled by a voice saying. "That's right, and we're right here. That was a piece of cake wasn't it Halt?"

They whirled around, just to see Halt and Will lounging on the chairs next to them, looking as if they had been there forever.

Halt replied to Will, "I'll say. Everyone was so focused on Pauline, that nobody noticed us. And by the way, sonny boy, when are you gonna start calling me Father?"

Will smiled. "When the sun turns blue."

**A/N It's a lame ending. I know. I might change it soon. Keep your ears and eyes open for more of my stories!**

**-Scribe**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Sorry that it took so long. I had WB (writer's block). A writer's worst nightmare. Hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ranger's Apprentice or Halt's Peril.**

Chapter 6

**Four Years Later…**

Halt looked around frantically. Where was Horace? And Will? What if… Halt pushed the thought out of his mind. No. They were not part of the hundreds of dead bodies littering the ground. But then… where were they? Halt sat down and cried. No. That was not the right word for it. He was sobbing, crying his heart out. Suddenly he tensed, and whirled around. There was Gilan, standing there and looking shocked.

Halt sat slowly down on a rock and lowered his face into his hands. Gilan made as if to sit down next to him, hesitated, then shrugged and sat down. He put his arm around Halt's shoulders, and the two of them sat there, shoulders shaking.

Then, Crowley arrived, and shook his head slowly. He said, "No sign of them." His voice broke with emotion. He then hurried off, to tend to the wounded.

There weren't just Araluen bodies. There were also the bodies of Temujai and Nihon-Jan who had succumbed to arrows or swords.

The duo turned as they heard the hoof beats of a ranger horse. It was Meralon, Ranger 12. He had a body draped over the front of his saddle. Behind him was Ralph, Ranger 19. There was a body on his too. The two riders stopped their horses a few feet before them, cautiously walking the horses the last few feet. Halt stood up, eyes streaming as he walked over to the two still figures. He looked at his sons, then walked over to the body of Will, burying his head in Wills shoulder. There were a few minutes of silence then Halt's head shot up. A look of jubilation was on his face as he threw back his head and cried, "He's _breathing_!"

There was a bustle of confusion as some people threw up their hands in delight, while most people leaned in to eye Will critically. Halt meanwhile, had moved on to Horace. "BREATHING! Quick, somebody, call a healer!"

Malcolm was fetched from across the field. He rushed over, and reached out to touch Will. Suddenly, he cursed, and muttered, "I really _hate_ it when this happens." He turned to Halt and Gilan, and snapped, "Will you two get them down?! I can't reach them like this!"

They hurried to oblige, still puzzled by his last statement. Halt asked, "_What_ do you hate, Malcolm?"

Malcolm gestured to Will. "See for yourself. I can't do my 'magic' with them doing it on their own!"

Halt and Gilan ignored him and turned to watch. There was an aura of purple light around Will. He was being lifted up by it. A few seconds later, the same thing happened to Horace. Gilan was mesmerized, but Halt frowned. "Malcolm? What's going on?"

Malcolm smiled. "Wouldn't you know? I thought you would, seeing as you experienced it yourself."

Halt frowned. Then realization dawned on his features. "Oh! Wait. Didn't you say it was just in the royal blood?"

Malcolm frowned. "Hadn't thought of that. Maybe you've been spending a lot of time with them?"

Halt shook his head. "Will used to be my apprentice, but I didn't get a lot of time with Horace, even after they became my sons." Halt froze, then exchanged a glance with Malcolm as the enormity of what he said dawned on him. "Of course!" Halt whispered. "They're my sons!"

Malcolm slapped himself in the head. "And that means that since you are not actually blood related to them, it must be in the royal _line_, not the royal _blood_! Also, each generation has the next color in the rainbow. Their children will have the color red!"

A horse voice sounded behind them "Whose children? Can I have some water?"

Halt turned around, and jumped on Will joyfully, rubbing Will's head roughly with his knuckle tousling his hair and lecturing at the same time. "Your children, you idiot! Do you know how worried I was?! Look at me! I was crying! Me! Crying!"

Will stare at him in amazement. "You?! Crying?!"

"Yes!" Halt yelled, crying joyfully. "Me! Crying!"

Will looked over Halt's shoulder at Malcolm. "Why is he like this, exactly? Did I do something wrong?"

Malcolm shook his head. "Yes." He said mock-solemnly. "You died."

Will stared after him in amazement as he went to check up on Horace. The knight was in the same condition, except that he was staring around confused. Malcolm took his hand and helped him up. The healer smiled at Horace. "I'll expect you're feeling peckish at the moment young knight."

If Horace had been a dog, his ears would have shot up and he would have started begging for food right then and there. "Peckish?" He asked incredulously. "Peckish?! I'm STARVING!"

Malcolm led him over to the food tent, sat him down, and smiled as he watched Horace wolf it all down in record time. "I'd better go rescue your Will from Halt." He said. "Be back in a sec."

Horace had his mouth full, so he nodded to show his acknowledgement.

When Malcolm was about ten meters away, he saw Will say something to Halt, and Halt stood rigid for a second. Malcolm got into hearing range just to hear Halt say in a low menacing voice, "… wouldn't dare."

Will appeared to be enjoying himself immensely. "Oh yes I would!" He said in an annoying singsong voice.

Halt turned to Malcolm incredulously. "He threatened to tell my wife that I lost sight of them in the battle!"

Malcolm tried to keep a straight face, and failed miserably. "I see." He said not so solemnly, and then burst out laughing. Will joined in, and Halt turned huffily away, but not before they saw the corners of his mouth twitching. He sneezed, obviously covering a chuckle. Malcolm and Will watched Halt's face grow red with the effort, until he snorted really loudly with the effort of not laughing. Of course this caused all three of them to fall into peals of laughter, rolling around on the ground.

**A/N I have chapter 7 ready to be posted. I just think that it's good to have a back-up chapter in case if I get WB again. Also, I haven't mentioned this yet, but I really ****_do_**** like reviews! Every time I look in my email and see a new one, (which has only happened 4 times) my heart bursts with joy! Please review! I'll update as soon as I can!**

**-Scribe**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Sorry it took so long, I had Passover break, and I'm not allowed to write then.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ranger's Apprentice or Halt's Peril.**

Chapter 7

Horace came up behind Malcolm, Will, and Halt and said, "Now that I've finished eating lunch, what's for dinner?"

He then noticed that his friend, brother, and father were all sitting on rocks, their backs hunched, shoulders shaking, and making these strange choking noises. He hurried around to the front of the rocks, and saw to his astonishment that they were crying! They seemed to be choking at the same time.

_Hm_ Horace thought. _That's strange._ He spent no more time thinking about it. He sat next to Will, shook his shoulder and asked urgently, "Are you okay? Are you okay, Will?"

Will looked up, saw his brother's face, and started the laughing scene all over again, with tears of laughter rolling down their cheeks, and Horace trying to bluster his way out of it (with little or no success).

"Wait, you're _laughing?!_ What are you laughing at? I thought you were crying! No, really! It's not my fault… no, really! You looked like you were crying! Wh-what're you laughing at?! Will you please explain… oh my god. WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?!" Horace sighed and gave up. He patiently waited for them to stop laughing. They did so… eventually, hiccupping themselves into relative quietness, with the occasional loud hiccup.

The three of them kept their eyes fixed on Horace. They knew that if even one of them glanced at the other, they would all burst out laughing again. It was quiet for about twenty seconds. Then it was broken… by Will's abnormally loud hiccup. His hand clapped over his mouth, and then he dashed off to a barrel of water, and submerged his head to get rid of the hiccups. Malcolm and Halt hurried to follow him. Horace sat for a while, watching them. Then, when he judged the moment was right, (when Will's face was _almost_ out of the water,) Horace commented, "You know, I thought for a second you were going to explode."

Will snorted, inhaling almost two inches of water from the barrel. Then, coughing, he stared in Horace in amazement. Horace nodded in satisfaction. "I thought so." He muttered, just loud enough for them to hear. "Revenge accomplished."

He stalked off, head held high. Will turned to Malcolm and Halt, to ask them a question.

"What did I do wrong?"

**A/N Sorry, I know. It's a short chapter. I'll try to make them longer in the future. Remember, R&R! Read and Review! It's what makes my world go round. :D  
-Scribe**

**btw go on my profile page and check out my Poll! The Poll is, "How many chapters should I put in Halt's Peril Version Two?" So please participate, so I can finish the story.**

**P.S. The next chapter was kind of boring for me and it took a long time to write. Bye! :P**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hi guys! I'm super sorry that I haven't updated in a really long time, but look on the bright side! It's SUMMER!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ranger's Apprentice or Halt's Peril.**

Chapter 8

Lady Pauline stared out of her window, distracted. She was supposed to be doing her work, but the second she heard that the Temujai and the Nihon Jan had joined armies to defeat Araluen; she had gotten a bad feeling in her stomach, and had hardly gotten any work done. There wasn't any sleep for her either. She had bags under her eyes, and her blonde/gray hair was matted and tangled. Halt was doing something stupid, she just knew it. Or if he wasn't, it would be Will or Horace. She smiled fondly at the thought of her family. Her daughter-in-laws were gorgeous, and her grandchildren were beautiful. Her husband and two sons were always going on missions and doing stupid things. What more could she ask for? She was startled out of her daydreams of just what _had_ her husband done _this _time, when her new apprentice, Julie, spoke.

"Uh, Lady Pauline? What were you saying? You were just about to tell me something, when you just sort of stopped and stared out of the window."

Julie was the baron's niece, with short blonde hair and a cute smile that always got people listening to her suggestions. She wore the standard simple white courier dress; except she had had hers embroidered with flowers and birds. She also wore all sorts of jewelry, and had enough makeup to suffocate a queen. Despite how bratty she looked, she was actually very nice. Lady Pauline sighed. She didn't want to teach a lesson right now.

"I'm sorry Julie." She said. "I guess you can go now. I really can't teach today. I'm just kind of distracted with the war and everything going on."

Julie nodded sympathetically. "I'm nervous Lady Pauline. My uncle, Baron Arald, is fighting in the war. I just want him to come home so that Auntie Sandra will stop pacing around wringing her hands."

Lady Pauline sighed and said, "I just wish I knew why the Temujai and the Nihon-Jan have allied against our forces. What do they have against Araluen?"

Julie shrugged and stood up. "Well I guess I'll just be going now. I'll see you tomorrow, my lady. I'll tell Auntie Sandra that you say hello, okay?"

Lady Pauline smiled and responded, "Yes, thank you Julie. I would like that. Good bye."

Julie walked to the door, and nearly banged into the man who was standing there, panting. Julie was puzzled, so she followed the man as he staggered into Lady Pauline's apartment. Lady Pauline turned, and smiled.

"Why hello David!" She said. "Why the rush?"

David was Lady Pauline's apprentice, and he had graduated a couple years before. He had been one of her _favorite_ apprentices. He kept his head, and excelled in his studies. He always listened to what other people had to say first, before he stated his opinion. He was so quiet, that when he _did_ open his mouth, everybody listened. He had obviously run all the way up the tower.

"My lady!" He cried, "The soldiers are back from the war!"

Lady Pauline gasped and stood up from her chair so fast that it toppled over behind her. She quickly asked, "David, where are they now?"

"They just passed the boundary line of Araluen." He said, "I was on lookout duty, and I saw them. I ran all the way here."

Lady Pauline raced out of the room, calling over her shoulder, "I'm going to tell Alyss! She'll be so happy! She's been worried out of her mind!"

She ran down seven flights of stairs, through the double oak doors, to the stables, to her white stallion, and galloped to the doors, across the lawns, down the road, and into the forest. She rode on and on, until she reached the cabin where Will and his family lived. She leaped off her mount, and burst through the cabin door. Alyss, who had been sitting at the kitchen table, feeding her baby daughter, stood up so fast that she bumped the table and spilled the baby food all over it. The sight of her old mentor breaking into her home and looking as though she had just run a 10K seemed to bring her up short. As Lady Pauline tried to catch her breath, Alyss tried to find her voice. It seemed it had just run away.

Finally, she found her voice. The questions came pouring out. "Pauline! What happened?! Did you get word of anything? Is everybody okay? You look like you just ran all the way from the castle! I've been so worried. It's been driving me insane! I wanted go to the castle and see you, but then I'd have to take Daniel and Saphira with me, and I can't." She gestured to her two-year old son, and her eight-month daughter. "If Will were here, he would help me. He always did… before the war." Which helped Lady Pauline, who had just regained her voice as well, remember why she was here.

"Alyss! They're back!" She cried.

Alyss froze mid-sentence. "Wh-Wh-What?" She stuttered.

"They're back! They're back! They're back!" Lady Pauline yelled.

Alyss laughed. "Well, why didn't you say so in the first place?! Help me get the kids get ready to go, okay?"

They got ready, and then set off. Alyss got her horse from the stable in the back, and took Saphira on with her. Lady Pauline took Daniel. They rode at a slow pace, so as not to jostle the children, but the both wished they could break into a gallop and race to the castle. Eventually, they arrived, and turned to see a line of soldiers galloping home. Two of them, on faster horses than the rest, raced in the front. Alyss squealed as she recognized them as Will and Halt. Pauline remained a little more composed, but not much. She was bouncing on the tips of her toes.

The riders thundered in, and people all around were reunited with family and friends. It was a joyous occasion. It was one that went down in the records of Araluen. And, (as Baron Arald announced) it broke the record; it came in first place, for the happiest thing ever to happen in history.

And it still is today.

**THE END**


End file.
